Testing the psychometric properties of Kidscreen-27 with Irish children of low socio-economic status

Background

Kidscreen-27 was developed as part of a cross-cultural European Union-funded project to standardise the measurement of children’s health-related quality of life. Yet, research has reported mixed evidence for the hypothesised 5-factor model, and no confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) has been conducted on the instrument with children of low socio-economic status (SES) across Ireland (Northern and Republic).

Method

The data for this study were collected as part of a clustered randomised controlled trial. A total of 663 (347 male, 315 female) 8–9-year-old children (M = 8.74, SD = .50) of low SES took part. A 5- and modified 7-factor CFA models were specified using the maximum likelihood estimation. A nested Chi-square difference test was conducted to compare the fit of the models. Internal consistency and floor and ceiling effects were also examined.

Results

CFA found that the hypothesised 5-factor model was an unacceptable fit. However, the modified 7-factor model was supported. A nested Chi-square difference test confirmed that the fit of the 7-factor model was significantly better than that of the 5-factor model. Internal consistency was unacceptable for just one scale. Ceiling effects were present in all but one of the factors.

Conclusions

Future research should apply the 7-factor model with children of low socio-economic status. Such efforts would help monitor the health status of the population.

Economic impacts of seafood production growth targets in Ireland

This paper examines the potential economic impact of the Irish government strategy for the development of the seafood sector in Ireland, Food Harvest 2020 (FH2020). The seafood industry accounts for a large proportion of income and employment in peripheral coastal areas. Many of these regions are predominantly rural and they are largely dependent on the primary fisheries sector. Moreover, the services and retail businesses in these areas are heavily dependent on direct spending from the fisheries, aquaculture and seafood processing sectors. A social accounting matrix (SAM) approach with (1) set to zero purchase coefficients for all directly impacted industries and (2) changes in output converted to final demand shocks is used to calculate the economic and employment impact on the rest of the economy from an increase in the output in the fisheries, aquaculture and seafood processing sectors in Ireland. The results suggest fisheries sectors have strong links with the rest of the economy hence an important economic impact from a policy perspective.

Optimisation of a droplet digital PCR assay for the diagnosis of Schistosoma japonicum infection: A duplex approach with DNA binding dye chemistry

Schistosomiasis is a chronically debilitating helminth infection with a significant socio-economic and public health impact. Accurate diagnostics play a pivotal role in achieving current schistosomiasis control and elimination goals. However, many of the current diagnostic procedures, which rely on detection of schistosome eggs, have major limitations including lack of accuracy and the inability to detect pre-patent infections. DNA-based detection methods provide a viable alternative to the current tests commonly used for schistosomiasis diagnosis. Here we describe the optimisation of a novel droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) duplex assay for the diagnosis of Schistosoma japonicum infection which provides improved detection sensitivity and specificity. The assay involves the amplification of two specific and abundant target gene sequences in S. japonicum; a retrotransposon (SjR2) and a portion of a mitochondrial gene (nad1). The assay detected target sequences in different sources of schistosome DNA isolated from adult worms, schistosomules and eggs, and exhibits a high level of specificity, thereby representing an ideal tool for the detection of low levels of parasite DNA in different clinical samples including parasite cell free DNA in the host circulation and other bodily fluids. Moreover, being quantitative, the assay can be used to determine parasite infection intensity and, could provide an important tool for the detection of low intensity infections in low prevalence schistosomiasis-endemic areas.